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Vodunn
Backstory At Kamalu, the great elk's resting place, near the edge of the forest is where the children first spotted him. A strange man wearing a top hat, the rim lined with small animal skulls, his face painted white and eyes with a deep red colour as if a fire burned inside of them. He beckoned the children to him. They knew they shouldn't be playing this far away from the caves, but it only made it more exciting. More importantly, they were told to never speak to people from outside the forest. Then again, people from the outside shouldn't have been able to enter this holy place at all, so perhaps he was simply a man from a different forest clan. Yes, that had to be it. Despite his intimidating appearance he had a friendly smile on his face, revealing a gold-coloured tooth. Another thing they had never seen before. As their curiosity got the better of them, the children ran up to the strange man. Before any of them had the chance to ask him who he was or where he came from, he told them to sit. "Gather around, children". His accent was thick, but he spoke Marathen perfectly well. He had to be from the forest. "I reckon your parents do not know you are here. You do know dark things crawl around at da edge o' da woods, no?" he asked rhetorically. The children, slightly embarassed that this man knew of their parents' warnings, nodded silently. After a long pause, wherein the man looked deep into the eyes of the children one at a time, he spoke again. "But, while we are here, would you like ta hear a story?" They loved stories, especially ones told by a traveler from beyond their village. "I assume ya parents have told you da legend of Papa Legba?" At the sound of the name, a clearly visible shiver ran down the spines of the children. The oldest of the group, a girl of perhaps nine or ten years old, protested loudly. "Parents only tell that story to scare children, Legba isn't real!" The man's smile disappeared for just an instant; long enough to silence the girl. "As you all know, he is da protector of da Marathi people. Da village houngan is da only one who speaks ta him, and only in his most feverish of dreams. Once every ten years, called da Tithe Collection, is da only time he reveals himself. Dat is when Papa Legba goes from village ta village, collecting his dues: da innocent soul of a newborn child. After all da villages have made their sacrifice, he returns ta his realm, and da forest is safe from famine, disease and war for another ten years." The children nodded in silent agreement, except for the young girl who spoke up again in a disappointed tone. "I thought you were going to tell us a story we hadn't heard yet." The man raised an eyebrow and reacted. "You should let me finish, child. Now, your parents have told you dat da children are taken away and never seen again, yes? However there was an exception. Once after da Tithe Collection, a child was taken from dis very village. Da people were in mourning for weeks, da mother and father of da young child were mad with grief. After a while, things settled down again in da village, as they eventually always do after Papa Legba has visited. A year later, two hunters found a child drinking from a stream near Papa's Haunt, da place were da entrance ta Papa Legba's realm is. Da child, who appeared almost ten years of age, was unable ta speak or walk and looked frightened. Dey tooks him ta da village tabe inspected by da houngan, but as da child was carried into the village, it's little eyes lit up and it started to mutter a single word: mama." The strange man paused again, a slight tremor of his lip revealing his hidden anger. "It seemed da child recognized his mother: the woman who's child was taken away by Papa Legba a year earlier! It had da same birthmarks and features as his parents. Da thing was, he had aged ten years while he had only been gone for little more than a year. Da parents were puzzled but rejoiced, their beloved son had returned ta them. Alas da houngan knew da anger of his master, who inflicted da houngan with the worst dreams he had ever had. Clearly, da protector of da forest, da great Papa Legba, had been slighted. Da child learned quickly, and from early on showed signs of great and mystical power, none of which had ever been seen by the Marathi people. Da houngan took it upon himself ta teach da mysterious child all he knew about the universe and the strange powers at work within him; he kept it to himself dat his master screamed for retribution an justice from his realm. He knew what would happen when Papa Legba would return: he would take what was rightfully his. Of course, as his powers grew and the child became a man, it had learned many things from da houngan an the other villagers about what had happened ta him. Just before the next Tithe Collection, his parents urged him ta leave da village behind ta escape da reach of Papa Legba. Yet as I told you before, Papa Legba takes what is rightfully his. And the young man's soul belonged to him an only him." The man clenched his fist tightly as he had spoken the last sentence. Everyone sat in silence as they thought about the words of the stranger. Everyone except the young girl who had spoken before. "That was a pretty nice story. So, why are you here mister?" The girl asked incessantly. "It has been almost ten years since I last visited dis place. Your mother, she is giving birth soon is she not?" Soulless Bloodline Due to mysterious circumstances, part of your soul is no longer connected to your physical form. Whether stolen or sold, you feel the growing darkness inside, as you do the presence of your lost essence. With its disappearance however, you became inexplicably linked to the pathways between the many planes of existence, as if the missing soul shard is calling you from the great beyond.. Class Skil'''l: Knowledge (Planes) '''Bonus Spells: Protection from Evil/Good (choose one at 3rd), Invisibility (5th), Dispell Magic (7th), Dimension Door (9th), Planar Binding (11th), Veil (13th), Greater Teleport (15th), Summon Monster VIII (17th), Energy Drain (19th) Bonus Feats: Greater Fortitude, Dodge, Spell Penetration, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Silent Spell, Combat Expertise, Augment Summoning Bloodline Arcana: You call magical energy to your side much easier thanks to your inherent hunger for arcana to fill the emptiness. Spells of the Conjuration sub-schools Calling and Summoning cast in combat gain a +2 on concentration checks Bloodline Powers: Gaze into the Abyss (Ex): At 1st level, your alignment becomes unreadable, and any attemps to Read your magic have a +2 DC. If anyone attempts to deduce your alignment, you learn their alignment instead. Inner Darkness (Ex): At 3rd level, the tether of your remaining soul starts to deteriorate, causing you to lose part of your humanity. At 9th level this ability increases to Fill the Void (Sp): At 9th level, as a swift action you can activate this ability. Whenever you are struck by a melee attack, the attacker suffers 1/2 x CL damage and you gain that amount in HP. This ability can only be used on creatures with souls. Fill the Void lasts for a single round and can be used once per day. At 13th level it can be used twice per day, and at 17th level thrice per day. Soul Cairn (Sp): Your diminishing soul seeks to feed itself with the souls of other around it. Once per day as a swift action, you can cause 1d3 negative levels to an opponent and gain your CL in HP. This ability can only be used on creatures with souls. Shadow Form (Su): At 20th level, your inner darkness swirls outward and engulfs your physical form. The swirling dark matter around you grants you a +2 to AC, and the nether energies decrease your presence in the physical world, giving you DR 10/physical. When a melee attacker dares touch your form, he or she needs to succeed on a CHA + CL DC Will Save, or be afflicted by Fear. The fear effect only affects creatures that have souls.